Speing motoe



2 Sheets-Sheet 1. E. S. REED. SPRING MOTOR.

(No Model.)

,907. Patente Jan. 20, 1891 (No Model,)

PatentedJan. 20, 1891.

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ma mums wan um, mum m STATES PATENT FFICQ ELI REED, OF CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNIVERSAL SEW'ING MACHINE MOTOR ATTACHMENT COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

SPRING-MOTOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,907, dated January 20, 1891.

Application filed May 29, 1890. Serial No. 363,623. (No model.) i

To call whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELI S. REED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chattanooga, in the county of Hamilton and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spring-Motors; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to an improvement in spring-niotors intended particularly for use withsewing-machines,butadapted equally well to actuate other kinds of machinery, the

I 5 object of the invention being to provide a simple, cheap, and efficient motor, one that is easy in operation, is easily wound up, and may be readily applied to any machine; and the invention therefore consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, substantially as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating the invention, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved spring-motor as practically applied to a sewing-machine. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same when removed from the machine, in partial section on line mac of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation on the line g 'y of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged bottom plan view of the winding-ratchet and its connections. A Fig. 5 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2 with friction-wheels substituted for certain of the cog-wheels shown in Fig. 2.

Like letters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the different figures of the drawings.

A designates the table of any kind of a sewing-machine or of any other machine with which the motor maybe used. The motor is designed to be located beneath this table or support. On the table are the mechanical parts of the sewing or other machine which the motor is to actuate. A well-known form of sewing-machine comprises a hollow head I,

which supports a shaft J, on which is a bandpulley J. IVithin the head I said shaft is provided with a bevel-pinion j, that engages a bevel-pinion 7; on the upper end of the vertical shaft K, which extends downward throughtho bottom of the head and the table,

its lower end being beneath the latter and provided with a gear L,which may be a cog ora friction wheel. These parts are commonly found in the kind of sewing-machine referred 5 5 to, or elseparts similarly arranged and performing a like function. The power to drive the machine will in this case obviously be applied to the lower end of the vertical shaft K, and hence this is the proper point at which to apply the powerof my spring-motor whenever it is combined with this style of machine. My motor is so constructed that I am easily enabled to do this, and'I therefore deem this combination of considerable importance in its practical results and as showing the quick and ready combination of the motor and sewingmachine.

The frame of the motor is preferably of the skeleton form, consisting of longitudinal bottom bar B, transverse bottom bar B, and side upright bars B which are secured at their upper ends to the under surface of the table A, although the structure of this frame may vary, as desired. 7 5

The drum F has formed on its outer surface gear-teeth, making a gear-wheel H, and Within the drum is coiled the actuating-spring G, which drives the motor and has one of its ends secured to the wall of the drum. The drum is arranged to revolve loose upon a shaft P, which has a bearing at its lower end in the strap or guard M, fastened to the under side of the bottom bar B, said shaft P passing through an opening in said bar, and said shaft having a bearing at its upper end in the horizontal crosspiece O, fastened between two opposite side bars B B On the shaft P, within the strap M, is the winding-ratchet N. The shaft P may be solid or tubular. The drum F pref- 9o erably has a skeleton cover and a skeleton bottom to promote lightness of structure.

Parallel to shaft P is the shaft D, having a bearing at its lower end in the bottom bar B and at its upper end in the transverse piece 5 O of the frame. On this shaft is the pinion M, which meshes with the gear H, said pinion being small, and also keyed to shaft D is the large gear Q. This gear engagesa pinion R on a short drive-shaft E, which has a bear- 10o ing at its lower end on the cross-piece C" at a short distance from the end of shaft P and a hearing at its. upper end in the projecting piece 0 (See Figs. 1 and E5.) The shaft E carries also the gear-wheel S, which meshes with the pinion L on the lower end of the vertical shaft of the sewing-machine. The gear S has a hub S. to which the brake is applied. Gear S may be a cog or friction gear.

0 designates the winding-lever. It is located horizontally beneath the motor, its inner end passing through the strap or guard M, and bein g perforated to permit thepassage through it of the shaft P. The forward part of this lever is suitably bent to bring its outer end into convenient proximity to the hand of the 0perator, said outer end of the lever being provided with a drop-handle O, pivoted thereto. As will be readily perceived,the inner end of the lever 0 lies directly beneath the ratchetwheel N. Lever O carries two oppositely-located spring-actuated pawls which engage the ratchet-wheel. g g denote these lever-pawls, and s 8 their springs which tendto press them into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet. On the bottom of the bar B of the motorframe is another pair of oppositely-located spring-actuated pawls g g and their springs s 8'. Thus we find here a series of four pawls, two on the lever and two on the frame, and all acting on one ratchet. As the lever moves in one direction, say to the right, (see Fig. 4,) the lever-pawls slip idly over the ratchebteeth, engaging them successively, but producing no action thereon. hen the lever moves in the reverse direction, the lever-pawls being in engagement, the ratchet will be partially rotated, and while this rotation is taking place the pawls on the frame will drop into the teeth of the ratchet successively, and will thus hold the ratchet in Whatever position the lever 0 may place The result of rotating the ratchet will obviously be to wind up or more closely coil the spring G, one end of wh ch we have seen to be fastened to the shaft P, which passes through the drum. One of the pawls g, it will be noticed, is preferably shorter than the other, and likewise one of the pawls g is shorter than the other of the pair. Hence a less rotation of the ratchet will cause the short pawl to engage with the next tooth, and likewise a less movement of the lever 0 will result in causing the shorter pawl to engage the ratchet when the movement of the ratchet or of the lever may be insufficient to bring the longer pawls into engagement, and thus a short movement of the lever may accomplish a result, and also slight movements of the ratchet may be caughtand not lost through non-action of the pawls. It will be found that this winding-lever will operate easily and quickly, and that a few vibrations thereof will surely and quickly coil the spring to its highest tension. I have herein thus described the construction and operation of the winding mechanism in order to more fully disclose the subject-matter of the present invention, although I do not intend herein to claim the scribe.

same, as it is fully claimed in another pending application which I have filed.

In order that the motor may be started at any moment with promptitnde or may have its motion quickly and speedily arrested at any time, and in fact governed and controlled at all times with little effort on the partof the operator, it becomes necessary to provide an efficient brake device or speed regulator. This brake device I will now proceed to de- In the form thereof which is herein presented it is intended to be operated by the pressure of the knee of the operator, instead of by the pressure of the foot, as is common in some other forms of the brake. Therefore I provide the lever U, pivoted to any convenient part of the frame, in a convenient position to be acted upon by the knee of the operator, and shifted in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1.

T designates a horizontal rod which is held in suitable bearings-as, for instance, the projection a on the frame and the part a, (see Figs. 2 and 5,)so that this rod may have an endwise movement. Said rod carries at one end a brake shoe or pressure plate adapted to be brought into contact with the hub S. Coiled around the rod T is a spring I), which is tensioned between a pin in the rod and the projection a. The outer end of the rod T is perforated to permit the passage therethrough of one of the legs 6 of a pivoted lever d, said lever being pivoted to the motor-frame, as shown in Fig. 1,and having its legs 6 e hooked at each end, one end, as already stated, engaging the perforation in the outer end of the rod T, while the other hooked end engages a perforation in one end of the knee-lever U. It will thus be seen that the pressure of the shoe or pressure-plate 0 upon the hub S will hold the mechanism of the motor at rest, acting thus as a brake and being sufficiently strong in its pressure to keep the parts at rest, even though the spring has been wound to its highest tension. When the rod T is adjusted endwise, so as to remove the pressure-plate c from the shaft E, the parts of the motor will be free to run under the impulse of the actuating-spring. Evidently when the knee-lever U is pressed by the knee so as to shift it in the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 1 the result will be to shift the lever d so that one end thereof will move in the direction of the adjoining arrow and the other end thereof will likewise move in the direction of its adjoining arrow, as shown in Fig. 1, thus moving the rod T endwise and releasing the brake from the hub S, so that the motor mechanism is set free. This constitutes, therefore, a very simple and efficient brake device for the motor, which is under the control of the operator at all times and is governed and controlled with the least possible effort. A simple pressure of the knee is all that is required to stop and start the mechanism or graduate the speed.

I have hereinabove referred to the fact that IIO this spring-motor is especially designed for application with that class of sewing-machines having within the hollow head a vertical shaft which projects below the table and is furnished with a cog or friction gear,

the mechanism of the motor being applied to this cog or friction gear. Attention is here called to the fact that the gear on the lower end of this vertical shaft K may be a coggear, as the gear L in Fig. 3, meshing with a cog gear-wheel S on the shaft E, or it may be a friction-gear, as L, (shown in Fig. 5,) which gear L is in frictional contact with the periphery of the f rictioual wheel S on the shaft- E. In this modification of the invention, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the brake mechanism to be employed is the same as that shown in Figs. 1. and with the trifling variation that the brake-shoe or pressure-plate 0, instead of being applied to a hub on the shaft E, is applied directly to the periphery of the frictionwheel S The operation of my improved spring-me tor, as herein described and shown, will be evident from the foregoing description without need of any additional detail. It will be seen that a few vibrations of the winding-lever winds the spring. The knee of the operator easily controls the stopping and starting of the mechanism and regulates the speed as well. The motor is applied to the machine with rapidity and no dili'iculty.

Many changes may doubtless be made in the precise structure and relative arrangement of the several parts of the motor without departing from the invention. I reserve, therefore, the libertyof varying the construc tion and adopting such changes as experience may from time to time dictate.

The particular constructionof the winding mechanism illustrated in detail in Figs is not claimed in this case, as the same is claimed in my other pending application for Letters Patent on a springnlotor, filed of even date herewith and having the Serial No. 353,622.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a spring-motor, the combination of the motor'frame, the drum F, having a geared rim H, the actuating-spring G, the shaft P, on which the drum revolves, the windingratchet N on the shaft P, the shaft D parallel to the shaft P, the pinion M on the said shaft meshing with the gear H, the large gear Q, also keyed to the shaft D, the short driveshaft E above and to one side of the shaft P, the pinion R on the short drive-shaft E, engaging the large gear Q, and the gear-wheel S, likewise on the shaft E, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a geared drum, a

ating the same, together with a pair of springactuated holding-pawls on the main frame and likewise engaging the winding-ratchet, and the brake device for regulating the speed of the motor and for stopping and starting the same, substantially as described.

I The combination, with the drive-shaft of a spring-motor, of the horizontal endwisemovable brake-rod having the shoe on one end thereof acting against the drive-shaft, said rod being held in suitable bearings, a spring coiled around the rod and tensioned between a projection thereon and some stationary part of the frame, the outer end of the rod being perforated, the knee-lever, and the lever connecting the knee-lever with the end of said rod, substantially as described.

a. The combination, with the spring-driven train of gearing, of the brake device consisting of the horizontal rod, the spring surrounding the same and tensioned between a pin on the rod and a stationary part of theframe, the outer end of the rod being perforated, the lever cl, having the bent ends e e, one of which engages the perforated end of the horizontal rod, and the knee-lever U, pivoted to the frame and engaged by the other end of the lever cl, substantially as described.

5 The combination of the geared drum, the spring within the drum, the winding-ratchet having a shaft on which the drum revolves, to which shaft one end of the spring is attached, while its other'end is connected to the wall of the drum, the drive-shaft above and out of line with the ratchet-shaft, said drive-shaft having a gear and a pinion thereon, a third parallel shaft having a gear engaging the geared drum, and also a gear en gaging the pinion on the drive-shaft, the aforesaid gearing constituting a multiplying train of back gearing, and the brake device consisting of an adjustable horizontalbrakerod surrounded by a spring tensioned between the pin thereon and the stationary part of the frame and having a shoe acting on the drive-shaft, together with a knee-lever for operating the brake-rod.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ELI S. REED. Witnesses:

DOUGLAS WILSEE, WM. L. BoYnnN. 

